Domain names are data strings that can be used to access resources over data networks. The domain names are often selected to ease user retention of the name. A prime example of a domain name is “uspto.gov” for the U.S. Patent Office. A Domain Naming System (DNS) stores and serves information associated with domain names. A prime example of the associated information is the current Internet Protocol (IP) addresses that can be used to communicate with resources in the domain. A common task for a DNS is the translation of domain names into their corresponding IP addresses. For example, a DNS would translate uspto.gov into the IP address of a Patent Office server system. The user then communicates with the Patent Office over the Internet using the IP address.
To load the DNS, Internet servers register their IP addresses with the DNS in association with their domain names. While these registrations are active, the DNS will serve out the IP addresses in response to queries having the domain names. Eventually, a given IP address registration may time-out, and the DNS will require another registration before serving out the IP address. In other scenarios, a properly registered IP address may still fail the user due to another reason, such as network or server problems. In addition to the IP address, the DNS may associate other information with the domain names, such as call state and network state.
Wireless communication devices are increasingly being used as content servers that interact with the DNS to provide their content over the Internet (or a private IP network). For example, a wireless camera having a domain name and an IP address may register the name and IP address with the DNS to serve out live images from the camera. These wireless communication devices may have limited availability due to power restraints, network availability, and the like. Unfortunately, the wireless devices and the DNS are not properly configured for efficient and effective interaction in the developing wireless environment.